Experience Sharing on the Informatization Transformation of Operating Room Instrument and Equipment Management at Harbin 242 Hospital

Original article: https://cli.im/article/detail/2331

There was once a joke: In the future, tombstones will only have QR codes. When you scan them with your phone, you'll see the person's life story—who they loved, hated, and still care about... This is called "scanning the tomb."

This joke reflects how QR codes have permeated our lives, from wedding invitations to subway billboards. As medical technology advances, efficient and precise equipment management has become crucial for ensuring service quality and patient safety. Operating rooms contain numerous expensive and complex instruments. To minimize equipment failures and ensure optimal performance, could QR codes—already widely used in daily life—be applied to medical equipment management? Guided by this idea, our operating room team rigorously explored QR code technology as a novel solution for information storage, transmission, and identification in equipment management, achieving full-process informatization from device usage to maintenance.

I. Building an Equipment Management System

After receiving the task from the head nurse, equipment team leader Liu Lei conducted in-depth research. Using the CaoLiao QR code platform, he built an operating room equipment management system. Each device was assigned a dedicated QR code containing general information, usage guidelines, maintenance protocols, and repair requests. The beautified QR codes—serving as digital "ID cards"—were printed and prominently displayed on the right side of each device.

Staff Training

II. Clinical Applications of Equipment QR Codes

By scanning QR codes, medical staff can instantly access device details without consulting paper manuals. Post-surgery, nurses record usage logs, cleaning status, and equipment malfunctions (via text, images, or videos) through the QR code interface. All records are automatically saved and aggregated into statistical reports, which can be exported for analysis. This creates a comprehensive "health profile" for each device, enabling managers to monitor every maintenance phase.

III. Cross-Departmental Impact

The success of QR code management in the operating room has inspired adoption in ophthalmology and ECG departments, driving new efficiencies.

Ophthalmology Department Implementation

Ophthalmology staff now scan QR codes on devices like slit lamps, tonometers, and fundus cameras to instantly view specifications and protocols. Post-use logs capture operation time, personnel, and device status. Backend data analysis reveals usage patterns and performance trends, supporting precise operations.

ECG Department Advancements

In the high-usage ECG department, QR codes streamline calibration, maintenance, and traceability records. Digital tracking eliminates handwritten errors and omissions. Data analytics help identify frequent failures, optimize resource allocation, and improve management accuracy.

By binding devices to dedicated QR codes, hospitals have reduced reliance on paper records while lowering storage and retrieval costs. Moving forward, the operating room team will continue refining management processes to deliver more efficient and precise patient care.

Original article republished from the WeChat public account "无影随行": 【Lean Management, Empowered by Codes】—Informatization Transformation of Operating Room Equipment Management